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During one of the interviews I had
with a reporter from a secular news
outlet during the opening of the Creation Museum, I was asked, “What are
you really trying to do here? What’s your
real motivation?”

I answered: “To stand on the authority
of the Word of God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ—to see
people saved so that they can be in heaven with us!”

The reporter replied: “So you admit it then?”

“Admit what?” I responded.

He said: “Well, that you’re deliberately
trying to get people converted to Christianity.”

“Yes. Absolutely,” was my reply.

The reporter then looked at me and said: “Well, that’s refreshing!”

I was somewhat surprised. “Why do you say that?” I inquired.

The reporter stated something similar to the following:
“I’ve interviewed many Christian leaders who are involved in issues
such as creationism, prayer in schools, abortion, and so on.” He then
went on: “When I ask them what their ultimate purpose is in tackling
the issues of the day, most would not admit that their involvement had
anything to do with Christianity. These leaders usually say it’s because
of ‘traditional family values’ or ‘what the Founding Fathers believed’—or
something similar.”

The reporter added: “Why don’t they just come right out, as you did,
and admit they’re involved because their real motivation is to
see Christian thinking permeate the culture?”

The account above highlights what I consider to be a
major problem in Christendom in America—and it has
even greatly contributed (unwittingly) to the secularization
of society and led to an increasing ineffectiveness
of the church to impact the culture.

Many Christians have been duped into accepting
a false idea: that there is a “neutral” position they
can take in regard to social issues. Some Christians
even accept the myth that the U.S. Constitution
declares that there should be a separation of church
and state, and, thus, they don’t want
their Christian beliefs to influence
politics.

God’s Word, however, makes it
clear that there is no neutral position.
Matthew 12:30 states: “He
who is not with Me is against Me.”
Thus, people walk either in “light”
or “darkness.”

When creation, prayer, and Bible
readings were eliminated from the
public schools, many people (including
some Christians) thought that the
system is now “neutral” or “religion
free.” But is it? All you have to do
is read the main biology textbooks
used in public schools to see that
students are taught how the entire
universe and all life can be explained
by natural processes! These textbooks
promote the religion of “naturalism”
(atheism).

A small minority of people has
forced its anti-God religious views
on the whole culture, and they have
even succeeded in capturing the hearts
and minds of children from church
homes. About 90% of today’s youth
in our churches attend public schools;
so, we should not be surprised that
they often don’t think biblically!

Most Christians simply don’t
know how to defend their faith
against even “softball” attacks on the
Bible. They freeze and avoid talking
about the Bible; they don’t want to
risk being confronted with tough
questions and be forced to attempt
a defense of their faith. And sadly,
most of them have already accepted
evolutionary ideas, and this has
undermined the authority of the
Bible in their own lives. They lack
the ability to take on even the most
blatantly unbiblical social issues.

God’s people need to unashamedly
and uncompromisingly stand
on the Bible. Like the apostle Paul,
we need to boldly state: “I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for
it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). We need to unashamedly
proclaim a Christian worldview
and the gospel, all the while giving
answers for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).

The following admonition Paul
gave Timothy is just as relevant for
each one of us 2,000 years later: “Be
diligent to present yourself approved
to God, a worker who does not need
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the
word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

To this end, our theme for 2010
is “I am not ashamed.” To emphasize
that it is God’s Word that we
unashamedly stand on, and it is
His Word that convicts and saves,
we will—through TV ads and other
media (e.g., billboards)—promote
this “I am not ashamed” theme.

As we do so, we will quote passages
of Scripture that relate to cultural/moral issues of our day. For
example:

Regarding the “gay marriage”
debate, our wording will be:
“I am not ashamed . . . ‘He which
made them at the beginning made
them male and female’” (Matthew 19:4).

As we are mocked by our enemies,
Answers in Genesis will not
be ashamed of what God’s Word
teaches concerning biblical truths,
including the accuracy of the book
of Genesis and the doctrines that are
found there (e.g., marriage between
man and woman, the sanctity of life,
origin of sin, creation, etc.).

My prayer is that you will likewise
be challenged to “not be ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord” (2 Timothy 1:8).

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Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. We focus on providing answers to questions about the Bible—particularly the book of Genesis—regarding key issues such as creation, evolution, science, and the age of the earth.